


[slow circulation]

by tokkuri



Category: Fence (Comics)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, Yeahhh, also nicholas knows how to salsa, everyone ships it, harvard and aiden are verified Little Shits, lots of touchy feely stuff, nicholas is touch starved, slowburn, so is seiji, the boys do skincare and shopping together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-07-19 19:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19979371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tokkuri/pseuds/tokkuri
Summary: nicholas and seiji try, albeit clumsily, to find solace in their daily lives and in each other.





	1. [i.]

**Author's Note:**

> wahhhhhhhhhhhhh this is my first work on ao3. i hope you guys like it! the kings row boys are babie and i would die for them all

Despite tryouts being over and having made the team, Nicholas's heart still races.

He stares at the rubber ducks on the blue shower curtain, eyes narrowed, focusing on their endlessly smiling faces. He can’t sleep. Not with the light on, so he turns it off and snuggles further into his covers. A sigh of relief from his roommate, Seiji, and then his quiet snores fill the room. Nicholas hates this feeling. He hates when his brain decides to milk five bad minutes of his week to dwell on.

_“Jesse's always had everything, and you’re just—"_

There it is again. He can feel the pain from Seiji's words like a knot in his chest threatening to choke him up.

Jesse’s always had everything. A good family, a good life. Luxuries and affection at his fingertips. Nicholas would have killed to have anything his half-brother had. 

He knew Seiji didn't mean anything _too_ bad from what he could discern. To him, this was all a war revolving around fencing. He didn't know anything. No one did. So why did it hurt this much coming from him?

The next morning Nicholas feels cold. Colder than usual. He changes into the black hoodie Bobby had bought for him on a day trip and heads down to breakfast.

“Yo, Nic. Couldn't sleep last night?" Eugene elbows him in the arm, giving him a toothy grin.

“What makes you think that?” Nicholas yawns, retreating farther into his hoodie.

“For one, your eyebags are hella dark. Second, you’ve been yawning, like, every two minutes, man.”

“I guess I could’ve slept better, bro,” he sighs, closing his eyes. He could have. Maybe if Seiji hadn’t said those things.

“A healthy morning routine can help compensate for poor sleep,” Kally offers.

Nicholas simply nods in response, too tired to talk. Maybe loading on some carbs can help get him awake.

The avocado toast and banana smoothie he had that morning must have done the trick. He’s awake enough to function, though he still can’t quite focus. And he’s still cold, even after exchanging the hoodie for a layered uniform. He attempts to write his notes down as neatly as possible, although still pretty sloppy for the average student. He asks Jihyun, the handsome guy with dyed hair and glasses next to him, to confirm his notes after class.

He only made a couple of calculation errors that day.

When the bell rings to end the school day, the mid-October chill hits him hard, and he shivers. He doesn’t know why he’s so cold. usually, during this time, he’d be fine with just a hoodie. _I should probably grab a mask from the health center so that I don't get anybody else sick._

He shows up to fencing practice a couple of minutes before the others arrive.

“Nicholas. you’re here, and early for once,” Coach Williams smirks.

“Yeah, trying to stay out of detention for at least one year, Coach.” he gives a pained smile back.

“Go change and warm up, Cox. We’ve got a lot to do today.”

“Yes, ma'am!”

\---------}

Seiji stretches, his back flexing with an ungodly loud cracking sound. He sighs and changes into his fencing uniform to start the day. Another afternoon fencing. Another afternoon with Zero.

He hadn’t understood why at that point he’d decided to call Zero by his name. He was an insufferable roommate and a weak fencer.

But behind all the scowls and the irritated snarls he would get as they bickered, Seiji could see an inextinguishable fire in his eyes.

It was mesmerizing to see, refreshing even.

But it pissed him off.

The fire in his eyes reminded him of Jesse. The golden boy of fencing. The boy who’s always had everything. A perfect father. A perfect teacher. A perfect life. In some ways, Seiji had the same thing. a life of luxury due to his family’s talent. Everyone saw him as Seiji Katayama, the prodigy rookie. Resident ice prince. Fencing idol, or Satan himself. No one saw him as Seiji Katayama, the vulnerable teenage boy.

Seiji always had high expectations to meet, and he met them well. Hell, he even exceeded them. But it was always a boring routine. Things to memorize and things to learn. Never quality time spent with family or any of the sort. He was only sixteen, and yet the weight of the Katayama family rested on his shoulders as the second-best ranked teenage fencer of the nation.

Second best. That's all he'll ever be.

Seiji'd like to say that he didn't mind at all, but his family would beg to differ. Being born into a rich family with high expectations to meet, nothing he does will ever be enough. He'd like to say he tries. He tries, despite effortlessly nabbing the top score on his academic quizzes. He tries, despite never having made any real friends except maybe Jesse until things went wrong and he began to resent him. He tries, despite being stuck under the same roof with a scrappy no-name fencer who likes to bicker with him every second he gets. 

But none of that matters now. He has expectations to meet, after all, and meeting them means practicing until you're past your limit.

He blinks once and looks at himself in the mirror. He fixes his collar and then strides out to the salle to begin practice.

\---------]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i've been beating around the bush with updating this fic, and so i've decided to give it a complete overhaul with fresh grammar fixes and new dialogue to boot. i'm so sorry for not being active enough on here and i promise i will try to update regularly. thanks, guys!


	2. [ii.]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nicholas has some shower thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really need some coste brothers interaction at this point man,,, does jesse even know about nicholas??? does robert know about nicholas??? lemme get some more backstory pacat i need it bro i need it now

Nicholas is barely awake by the time he gets back from practice.

He finds Seiji doing work at his desk and listening to music through his earbuds. Quietly, so as not to disturb him, Nicholas rolls open his dresser drawer and pulls out some fresh underwear, a pair of basketball shorts, and a black tank top, like always. 

As Nicholas makes his way over to their bathroom, Seiji clicks his tongue, probably thinking he'll have to wipe out the bathroom again. Knowing he's probably right, Nicholas rolls his eyes and closes the door behind him.

He's still not used to the shower curtain not being there. He'd always thought of showering as a moment of complete silence. nothing but dim lights, the sound of running water hitting the bottom of the bathtub and hands full of suds running through wet hair. Right now... not so much. It feels too open, too naked, too vulnerable. He curses himself and all those times he took a shower curtain for granted.

He sighs and tries to focus on getting done so that Seiji can use the bathroom after him before curfew hits. As he rinses himself off, however, his mind goes hazy and decides to have a movie night.

Seiji, beyond furious. Dim lights, crashing into mannequins. Fresh bruises stinging on the sides of his face. 

_Urgh._ _Why can_ _'t you just let it go, Nic?_

Despite his internal protests, his brain continues to play it over and over and over again. 

"You'll never be good enough to beat him."

"He's always had everything, and you're just--"

And the match after.

Seiji whooshing past him. The blunted tip of an epee jabbing hard into his chest, his head, his shoulders. 

Nicholas's eyes burn. He can't tell if he's crying or not because there's already water streaming down his face, covering his cheeks, his eyelids, stinging his tear ducts. 

He sighs heavily and blinks once, then twice. Then he realizes he's been standing absentmindedly under the jets of boiling water and now his fingers are wrinkly from the moisture.

He turns off the water, dries off, and makes sure to wipe off any water that escaped the bathtub. He puts on deodorant and moisturizer (because, shocker: even teenage boys can choose not to be crusty), changes into his pajamas, and brushes his teeth before heading out.

Seiji looks up from his desk and takes an earbud out. "You've been in there for more than thirty minutes." 

"Yeah, sorry. Shower thoughts," Nicholas grumbles, plugging in his hairdryer.

"Did you use up all the hot water?" 

"It wasn't fuckin' freezing when I turned it off, so no."

"Did you wipe the bathroom?"

"Check it yourself. You wouldn't believe me if I said yes."

Seiji shuts the door behind him. 

The warm breeze blasting from the dryer feels nice, especially after being so damn cold all day. The fatigue is really starting to sink into his muscles, and he made sure to warm up extra before practice today. 

When most of the water in his hair is gone, he unplugs his dryer and flops onto his bed. He's a couple more blinks away from passing out, but he pulls up his phone instead to catch up on what he missed. Some texts from Coach Joe, some from Bobby, and a couple more for Harvard. A missed call from Bobby, and one from his mother. He's too tired to give any coherent response, so he sets his alarm, pulls the covers up to his chin, and passes out on the spot, hoping for a dreamless sleep.

\--------]


	3. [iii.]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nicholas has some thoughts he'd rather not admit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uuuuuuuuu.... 3 months. i'm so sorry to have kept you waiting;;;;;;

At 4 AM, Nicholas' alarm rings, prompting a slurred "Hmrrrrnggghhh". He rubs his eyes and sits up. At least it's better than being woken up by the morning bell. He changes into his training clothes, splashes water on his face, brushes his teeth and hair. He looks at himself in the mirror and gently runs his fingers over the bags under his eyes. They're darker than dark as a result from another night of overthinking about pointless, trivial things. At this point he wouldn't be surprised if his friends mistake him for a raccoon one morning.

He yawns and stretches his back, feeling his bones click back into place. The tiredness from Monday has carried on to today, and Nicholas has never hated his garbage body more. He curses himself and continues on his way.

\-------]

When Nicholas heads out, the cold early-morning air envelops him, nipping at his cheeks and nose. He shivers as the goosebumps on his arms start to rise.

And then, he sneezes. Once, then twice, then five times. He's definitely going to need to get that mask later.

Despite the cold, his eyes, though heavy, savor the alternate reality of the early morning. The sky is a dark navy, and the campus lights seem to make the path glow under his feet. The only sounds out here are his footsteps and the crickets, chirping in the place of birds, welcoming the dawn. Here, it's calm. The campus is empty, the air is fresh, and the day is new. 

He opens the door to the salle and sees Seiji and Dmytro doing their usual sparring drills. Seiji glances at him with the slightest bit of contempt on his face, but Nicholas notices right away and sticks out his tongue in response before going to his corner to start with the basics, as usual. 

_Wrist straight. Thumb at eleven o'clock._

_Keep your body straight._

_Arm first, step second._

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. 

Nicholas could admit it a million times. He's tired of practicing the basics over and over again, but he's smart enough to know about the verbal ass-whooping he'd get from Coach Williams if he dared to even think about it around her. 

When he looks at Seiji, it frustrates him even more. Seiji's had years of experience, sparring with a great coach like Dmytro. Meanwhile, Nicholas is back at square one, fixing bad habits and revising his technique. Sometimes he can't help but stare at the other boy as he masterfully wields his epee in his right hand.

Seiji's on a whole other level. He's fast. He's graceful. Nicholas is mesmerized by the way he fences, and yet also extremely frustrated, because it's the one technique he can't seem to work his way around with the way he is now. 

He takes off his helmet and checks the time. 6:00 A.M, 30 minutes before breakfast. "Yo, Seiji, I'm heading out," he calls before grabbing his equipment.

"Try not to get arrested on your way out," Seiji shouts back.

"Aww, you care about me!"

"Piss off, Zero."

Nicholas just cackles as he runs out the door.

\-------]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uwehhhhhhh i'm so sorry!!! i meant to get this chapter out a lot earlier, but i ended up getting really busy during these path few months and couldn't bring myself to work on it. thank you for the kudos, though! it's nice to see that people appreciate my work! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°


End file.
